Friday, February 22, 2008

At a recent press conference on Valentine’s Day, Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked to react to a remark by Hillary Clinton who said that as a former K.G.B. officer, Putin “has no soul.”

His reponse?

“As a minimum, a state official must at least have a head.”

Mr. Putin was also asked about complaints from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) which says that elections are routinely rigged in post-Soviet autocracies. They complained that Russia was making it impossible to assess the current campaign and election fully because of it’s various restrictions.

Putin seemed to have dipped his tongue in vinegar before the presser. His response again was that the OSCE needs to be overhauled and suggested that the monitors intended to teach Russia how to become democratic.

“Let them teach their wives to make shchi,” he said. Shchi is a popular Russian cabbage soup.

(Quotes from Putin’s press conference as reported by the New York Times.)

3 comments:

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Well, indeed an acid tongue....wonder how a statesman who has a 'head' can talk like this. Btw, I happened to see a documentary on Boris Yeltsin and was quite amused by his hilarious antics. Maybe, its in the Russian customs to do such things :)Sathej